Who Dares Wins
by Naramis
Summary: Fang is secretly in love with Vanille. When she sees the redhead flirt with Hope all evening, jealousy rises within her. Will she finally act on her feelings? - A Christmas-themed fic. Fanille.


_Who Dares Wins_

She smiled that wonderful smile of hers, green shiny eyes sparkling with a never before seen intensity as Fang dared to make a move they'd waited for for so long - for too long - and leaned forward slowly, carefully towards the redhead, pressing her eager lips onto hers-

The sound of high-pitched giggling suddenly drew Fang out of her fantasy, making her twitch ever so slightly as her eyes adjusted to reality again, looking for the source that had sort of ruined her daydream. She didn't need long to find it.

"Haha, this is so funny, Hope!", Vanille giggled again, and Fang's eyes narrowed in angry jealousy as she watched her secret crush sit next to the silver-haired boy, laughing heartily at the jokes he was making. The brunette averted her gaze in disgust, not able to stand their flirting.

But when another upbeat giggle reached her ear, she couldn't help but look again at the two who - _oh, I'm so lucky _- sat directly across from her on a couch. Fang regretted her move in an instant when she clearly saw how Hope, seemingly by accident, brushed his arm against Vanille's, who giggled a bit before leaning forward and whispering something in his ear.

The boy nodded, laughing in a way that didn't make it hard for Fang to imagine what nature the shared thought had had. The huntress did her best to keep herself outwardly controlled, snarling inwardly and biting her tongue so hard it was a miracle she didn't draw blood.

_Etro, I can't stand this any longer._ Any more of this torture and Fang was sure she'd go and punch the shit out of Hope. Not exactly a great way of saying 'Merry Christmas'.

Trying to ignore the two lovebirds, the brunette got up and tried her best to appear calm and relaxed as she made her way through Farron's house.

* * *

A few fake smiles later, she'd grabbed her jacket and closed the garden door, breathing a long, loud exhale as she quickly felt her fury leave her. It wasn't hard with the beautiful snowy view in front of her and the pleasant cool air surrounding her. She took a few steps in the snow, taking a fistful of the cold white. She smiled briefly as she threw it towards the nearest tree, hitting her mark perfectly.

Her joy didn't last long, however. The moment her mind decided to remind her of her best friend still sitting in there, most likely still flirting with that wimp like there was no tomorrow, the momentary calmness and relief was as quickly forgotten as it had come.

Fang sighed. This time, it wasn't fury she felt overcoming her, but another, softer emotion. She looked up to the dark night sky, feeling that rather unfamiliar stinging in her eyes as a heartbreaking realisation dawned on her, engulfing her heart with darkness.

She gulped. Yeah, she'd tried to ignore the truth as best as she could. But tonight, right now, it'd become blatantly obvious, leaving her no way to pretend any longer, destroying her hopes mercilessly and once and for all: Vanille wasn't, had never been and would never be gay. And most importantly, she'd never liked Fang as more than what she was: her best friend.

For the past _years_, the huntress had had a crush on the cute redhead, but had hidden it from her in fears of rejection. But deep inside, Fang had always hoped her friend may feel the same way for her and could also like girls since the redhead had never shown any interest in boys at all. That hope had had its right to exist until just a few weeks ago. That was when Hope and Vanille had started seeing each other much more frequently, when their behaviour towards one another changed, became different, more flirty.

The brunette smiled sadly. She knew she'd refused to see it, denied to believe it, doing her best to shrug it off as the two of them just fooling around as friends and nothing more. But tonight, on the night of Christmas, she'd seen them with each other for an entire evening, had been watching them.

And now, there was no doubt: Their relationship had grown into something more, and what they'd been doing wasn't just seeing each other, it was dating. Vanille might not speak of him as her boyfriend, but Fang was sure now that would come soon enough.

In a moment of pure frustration mixed with an all too painful sadness, she stomped down hard - as if that'd change anything. A set of tears slid down her cheeks. _Have to let these unwanted feelings go..._ _She doesn't want me this way, never wanted me this way ..._

A thousand painful thoughts invaded Fang's mind at once, all telling her in an undeniable, harsh clarity what she should've known all along, right from the moment she'd fallen for Vanille years ago: She couldn't have her, she was and had always been unattainable. The day on which Vanille would - according to Fang's fantasies - come out of the closet, enabling the huntress to put her cards on the table too and show openly how she really felt for her, would never come. It was as clear as day now to the tanned woman.

The time of lies and pretending was over, and it hurt to see this comforting dream go, leaving her all alone to the cold pain that was reality... "Fang? What are you doing here?"

Once more tonight, the brunette felt herself suddenly drawn out of a dream world, or more a nightmare this time. She twitched slightly, turning to face the woman disturbing her solitude.

"Lightning", was all she could muster, shocked at how powerless her voice sounded.

The woman in question neared her, and Fang used the time to regain her composure and appear as normal as possible. She placed her trademark smirk on her lips, but it was just an illusion, just a shadow of herself. "I've just come here to relax a lil' alone, enjoy the snow and all, ya know"

She couldn't have lied more. She just hoped Lightning would buy it. Then the huntress thought she could see a hint of an amused smile briefly showing on the woman's pale face, making her wonder if Lightning had seen through her.

Fang quickly received confirmation when the older Farron came to a stand beside her, "Is that so? That's so unlike you, you're normally much more of a people person, aren't you?"

There was no need for Lightning to become any clearer than that - Fang knew in an instant she'd been caught. She sighed loudly. Yeah, lying rarely worked with someone as attentive and smart as Lightning, more so when you yourself weren't exactly known for being good at it.

"Alright, alright ... You've got me. I've come here to think some"

She looked down at the snow at her feet when the older Farron's unexpected reaction hit her, making her jump slightly. "Is it about Vanille?"

Fang opened her mouth, feeling utterly caught, "What?". When she turned to look at Lightning, all she found was a now more visible smile on the pink-haired lady's lips. "It is, isn't it?"

"Yeah. How do ya know?"

There was a short break as Lightning stared down herself as if thinking carefully what to say next. "Oh, just a hunch. Want to tell me about it?"

The brunette arched an eyebrow. Somehow she had a feeling Lightning knew something. Maybe it was in the way she tried a little too much to appear clueless, or perhaps it was the mix of amusement and compassion showing in her eyes, her posture, her face no matter how well she tried to hide it. "Uhm ... I don't know"

She had to play this safe. Lightning could keep a secret, Fang knew that for a fact, but she didn't want to risk it still. Even someone like her could accidentally give away information.

A slightly annoyed sigh escaped the older Farron beside her, making Fang turn her head again to lock eyes. "Alright.", was all the reply the Pulsian got, and she was already wondering if that was all when- "This is about her and Hope, isn't it, Fang?"

Again, there was this feeling. Lightning had something going on here, and judging by her question it was obvious she knew about Fang's trouble with Vanille's and Hope's flirting. _Not good._

"Mh... yeah. I don't like the two of them bondin' that much, ya see. Don't think he's right for her", Fang started, "Not that Hope's a bad guy, of course! I just think she deserves a guy who's a little more ... mature, and all. Especially seein' that this is her first relationship with someone", she quickly added, inwardly relieved and the tiniest bit proud she'd been able to come up with a good explanation for her not liking the two together so quickly.

Her momentary relief quickly vanished into worry, though, when she heard Lightning chuckle at her response. She had a feeling she'd been caught lying once more by the smart soldier.

"Fang ... don't you think it's more that, you know, ... what really bothers you is that the one flirting with her isn't _you_?" Lightning's eyes met the Pulsian's, and though the question had been the littlest bit provoking, there was still the compassion, the softness in her aqua eyes telling Fang she understood her. Lightning was on her side.

Still, having her deepest lie exposed wasn't something Fang could shrug off like that. She looked away for a moment, gulping, trying to gather herself. She exhaled deeply, then looked at Lightning again. "There isn't much point in tryin' to talk my way outta this, is there?"

The older Farron smiled, shaking her head. "So what are you gonna do about this, about your feelings?", she asked, straight to the point as usual. She reached down, grabbing some snow as Fang had earlier, throwing it against a tree.

"Well, uhm ... I haven't done anythin' in the past years, ya know ... and now, I guess, it's pretty obvious it's pointless anyway. She doesn't like girls and she's seein' Hope.", Fang replied, drawing patterns in the snow with her foot in an attempt to try and make the sadness trying to take over go away again. "It's pretty clear, isn't it? It just hurts so damn much to realise I finally have to let go of these feelings for her..." She sighed. _Etro, this hurts so much already...__  
_

She was caught off guard once more tonight when a hand landed on her shoulder, patting her. "This might sound strange coming from someone like me, but ... If you ask me, your chance is still there. As my sister would say: just go and tell her how you feel", Lightning said, patting Fang's shoulder again in emphasis, nodding.

The taller woman involuntarily had to smile despite her sadness at how her friend tried and make her feel better. Still, she didn't quite understand Lightning. How could she seriously consider it a good idea for Fang to go and confess to Vanille?

"You can't be serious. I'd clearly ruin our friendship with that, we both can see she has no feelings for me", Fang shook her head, still confused how Lightning of all people had actually suggested something so stupid and irrational. Though, inside Fang wished it were as easy as the soldier made it sound.

"Can we? I'm not so sure. You never know, Fang. If our adventure taught me one thing, it's clearly that you never know. Just tell her and let it out, I'm sure she won't kill you in any case.", Lightning replied, finishing her words of advice with a wink. A _wink_.

Fang blinked in irritation. If she knew one thing, then it was that the stoic soldier did not wink, and if she did, this was highly alarming. Though if in a positive or negative way she wasn't so sure.

Obviously amused by Fang's confusion, Lightning lightly patted her on the shoulder again before making to go inside. "I'm sure you'll do whatever's right. Just remember, Fang: you never know". She smiled one of her little smiles again before turning and leaving the still frozen Pulsian alone in the garden, now surrounded by silence.

What the hell had just happened? Fang wondered. But what was even more important was Lightning's advice that had somehow left an impact on her, as stupid as it had sounded at first. _You never know_, she'd said, and she had a point that indeed their adventure had proven them that. Could Lightning actually be right?

Fang shook her head, a fire coming to life in her eyes as she balled her hands to fists. "Ah, fuck this! Oerba Yun Fang doesn't run from this fight anymore!".

Indeed, this was the only 'fight' she'd ever run from, the fight of love that is. She'd never run from any opponent, and no matter how big the monster was, Fang fought it. But there was this one lovely creature the tough woman feared more than any monster ... _Vanille_.

She stomped back towards the entrance. Tonight would be the night to overcome her fears. She had no clue where the sudden courage had come from, maybe it _was _Light's advice? Anyway, she'd go and tell Vanille how she felt, no matter the result. And yes, indeed you could never know.

* * *

With newfound strength, she made her way inside. She couldn't say she was surprised when her now energised gaze met Lightning's and she received a knowing, supportive nod from the pink-haired woman, who could hardly suppress her smile.

Fang looked around in the living room, trying to find Vanille. She wasn't there, and the woman began to feel all tense again when the bathroom door opened and Vanille came out, smiling sweetly when her gaze met Fang's. In an instant, her knees felt like jelly, making her question her mission again. Maybe that 'fight' was too big for her, after all?

She was just about to forget about the whole thing all over again when she felt hands firmly on her shoulders, pushing her forward just the slightest bit before Lightning came to stand beside her, giving her the same commanding gaze Fang was sure she normally reserved only for her recruits at GC.

Any other situation and Fang would've reacted with her usual cocky attitude, showing herself unimpressed. But right now, the soldier's attitude actually helped her. Nodding in thanks, she moved forward finally, going over to where Vanille had sat down beside Hope.

"Vanille? I... I need to talk to ya, in private". It was a miracle her voice didn't break because her heart beat as if her life depended on Vanille's answer. She tried to ignore Hope's presence as her gaze wholly, solely focused on the girl that had managed to capture her heart without even putting any effort into it.

"Okay... Sure, let's go", the redhead nodded, getting up and leading the way out of the living room. She stopped in the entrance hall, turning to Fang. Admittedly, it wasn't exactly romantic, but as it was quite likely Vanille's answer wouldn't be either, it seemed fair enough to Fang as she inhaled deeply, readying herself.

"So, uhm ... ya know, there's somethin' I need to tell ya", she began, nervously holding on to her already sweaty hands for some kind of support. _It's all or nothin' now._ She shook her head, trying to rid herself of the growing nervousness. Through all of her uncharacteristic stumbling, Vanille remained completely silent, eyeing Fang with a mix of honest curiosity and affection. When the older Pulsian dared holding her gaze for longer than all of a second, it actually calmed her down a good bit, giving her the courage to continue.

She cleared her throat, made a step forward and gently took the girl's hands in her own, feeling the electricity jolt through her body at the sensation but ignoring it for now.

"I ... Vanille, there's somethin' I've never told ya, for quite long, actually...", she started, gulping as she felt her heart beating faster and faster, wondering if it might explode any second. _Do it. Now._

"It's that ... I've fallen for you."

_This is it. It's out. _"I- I know this is probably not exactly great for you, but ... it just happened, and I just had to let it ou-hnnm!" Fang's eyes shot open widely as she suddenly, in the middle of speaking, felt soft lips pressed onto her own, kissing her with such a tenderness she actually momentarily thought an angel had appeared before her to share this act of intimacy with her.

When her still widened eyes looked down, she found herself confirmed that it was an angel indeed, her very own red-haired, special Pulsian angel. And it just clicked. Fang finally, after seconds of understanding, processing, wrapped her arms around Vanille tightly and returned the kiss with the built-up passion and love of years.

And all tension all at once left her body when the girl placed her own small hands at Fang's waist and back, holding her with a firmness that let the brunette know in no uncertain terms just how much Vanille wanted this, had waited for it to happen. And Fang just closed her eyes and let go, giving all of herself into the kiss, into this special moment, and to Vanille. She was hers, had always been. Will always be.

They were so focused on kissing each other, none of them noticed how slowly, one after one, the two Farrons and their guests left the living room to come and watch the newfound lovers in silence, smiling at what they saw.

"Finally! It's about time, you two", Fang jumped slightly, feeling Vanille in her arms do the same at the deep male voice coming from their right, interrupting their moment. Still holding each other, they turned to the source, Snow, only to find all their former l'Cie friends looking at them with broad grins on their faces. It took the older Pulsian a moment to process again what had just happened, and why Vanille didn't seem the slightest surprised by the situation. Fang slowly disentangled herself from her fellow Pulsian, meeting eyes with her.

"But ... aren't ya, uhm, into boys, Vanille?", she blurted out in utter confusion, voicing the first thing that crossed her critical mind. Not that she complained about the very surprising turn of events with Vanille actually reciprocating her advances, but there were still some things she didn't quite get about it.

"I mean ... what about Hope?", she asked, briefly nodding over to the young man, though it was rather awkward, at least for her. Because, strangely enough, he didn't seem to be bothered the slightest bit by having just witnessed his ... girlfriend? kiss another person. On the contrary, he was grinning at least as broadly as Snow and Sazh combined.

It didn't help poor Fang's confusion much when Vanille giggled at her question. _What's goin' on here?_ "Vanille?"

The girl in question took a moment to calm down again, nodding up to the brunette. "Well ... how should I put this, Fang...", she started, finding herself at a loss of words. She looked over a little helplessly to Hope, who thankfully got the hint.

"Simply put, we set you up a bit. Vanille and I have never been attracted to each other, we just kinda acted a little to, uhm ... make you jealous and provoke you. You know, so you would act", he explained, his grin disappearing quickly when he saw the death glare he received from Fang.

"Hey, it wasn't my idea!"

Fang didn't know what to say, what to think even. Looking for answers, all she could really do was gazing back at Vanille again, whose smile became cutely sheepish the moment jade eyes stared at her.

"Well, I've liked you for so long but never had the courage to act on my feelings ... I had the impression you liked me too, but couldn't get myself to talk to you about this to find out for sure...", she bit her lip, and there was this innocent spark in her eyes that Fang had first fallen in love with years ago. It made her smile, more so when she realised the depth of her words.

"Yeah, and we weren't blind either, so...", Serah piped up, still caught up in the romantic feelings.

"...so we decided to help Vanille out a bit", Lightning finished the sentence for her.

And suddenly, it all made sense to Fang. Lightning's knowing, highly amused smile, the advice she gave her in the garden, everything. She'd _known _right from the start Vanille wouldn't refuse Fang and therefore confidently encouraged her to follow her heart!

The Pulsian nodded in thanks to the soldier. It slowly dawned on her what had been going on all these weeks, though she wasn't quite sure if she really understood it. "So, uhm ... you guys wanted to provoke a reaction outta me by havin' Van flirt with Hope, yeah?"

There was a short silence before Vanille was the first to nod slowly. "Mh, yeah. Kind of. Though, as I said, I wasn't 100% sure if you liked me that way too. So we came up with that idea.", she explained, her smile widening. "I knew that if you liked me as more than a friend, you'd go crazy over us flirting. And if it would've left you cold, well, I would've known you're not interested. A simple test, right?", the redhead giggled softly.

Fang couldn't help but smile deeply. She loved it when Vanille was like this, so upbeat and unconcerned. Her heart jumped in her chest, and she brought up a hand to stroke over the girl's cheek, smiling when she leaned into her touch.

"And what then? I mean, what was your 'plan' for if you got proof I was into ya?", Fang wanted to know, stroking softly over her cheek. How had she been able to live like this, without having her completely, for all these years? It seemed so absurd right now.

She arched an eyebrow when Vanille blushed slightly then. "Well, I was sure beyond anything that your jealousy would make you go and claim me, sort of, and so you'd confess to me..", she bit her lip, looking away briefly.

"But things turned out a bit differently there, huh?" Fang smirked. "Because I saw this as proof you were straight, knowing I had to let these feelings go", she added, sadness showing on her features for a split second.

Vanille nodded. "Yeah ... I'm so sorry, Fang. Guess my plan was a bit too optimistic...", she smiled sadly, looking away in shame.

"Hey, nothin' to be sorry about, sweetie. You were actually right...", she turned to Lightning, smiling, "Light here made me see the hope again I'd somehow buried deep down so long ago. The trust that everything's possible"

"I think you only just really needed a friendly kick in the ass to remind you of that", the soldier pointed out, smiling slightly, and before she knew it, everyone was chuckling and nodding at her statement, agreeing wholeheartedly.

_Wow, they all really supported this, helpin' Van and me gettin' together. They really are a family._

Fang nodded as her smile widened almost painfully as she looked back from Lightning and the others to Vanille, whose emerald eyes glowed intensely with love. _Seems I really just needed some reminder that you really never know..._

And as everyone was still caught up in their laughter and casually chatting among each other, Vanille slowly leaned to Fang's ear, "Miracles are something we make for ourselves, remember? I love you, Fang."

Yes, she remembered. She might've needed Lightning's help, but she remembered. And tonight, at the night of Christmas, they'd proven it once more. Fang placed the softest of kisses on the girl's lips, nodding. "I love you too".

* * *

**AN: **Merry Christmas everybody! Hope you enjoyed the fic :)

Oh and I'd appreciate it if you told me whether the formatting is alright, with the breaks and everything. I wrote this in Word and it was quite nice to read there, but when I uploaded, I had a feeling that it seemed exhausting to read. Don't know if that's just me, though. Please tell me what you think.


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